17 Million F*ck Offs - A Song About Brexit- and a day around the house

Well this is really worth listening to

Well it was quite a busy day today as Noel wanted to continue writing his medical history and of course that brought many memories both good and very bad but Hey Ho he will be glad when it is completed which may take until the end of the month. Its already 20 A4 size pages and so will take a little time to read but areas still need more information.
Jennifer spent some time on here embroidery and also washing sheets and clothes but as its quite warm and sunny here there is actually not to much thank heavens. 
Watched the Manchester United game against PSG and delighted that Man U won which really stunned the French, see this must be the fault of BREXIT that we won... Also have noticed that French Customs are looking for salary increases and are therefore on a go slow at Calais and slowing down the Eurostar passengers and also the trucks as they 'Try to simulate what it would be like with out a Brexit deal'  Who are they kidding!!!!
I keep on reading horror brexit stories about passports and green cards for car insurance , the price of food and lack of availability of same etc etc  and what people fail to realise is the the EU countries will also require passports that last longer than six months, they will need a green card and they cannot get English produce so the who thing is Bullsh**. BMW are saying that they may produce the new electric mini in Holland is there is a Brexit no agreement, so what you really want the Dutch to build cars,  at the moment they build mostly trucks ( and some minis) and as UK is a larger market for cars than Holland do they not realise that people won't buy them because they moved production, I certainly would not, I would certainly buy another Toyota as they have recently invested in a new production plant in Derby and need to be supported, also Toyota build much more reliable cars than BMW, how many of their Diesel engine cars are catching fire?? really great if you want to have a BBQ en-route.
Quite frankly the EU for all their bravado and shouting at the Brits, are very scared that the EU will collapse when we have left and serve the EU right as they got too big and ugly. A Free Trade Organisation is all that is needed  and if they think that having the EU will stop wars, think again. Once we have left and the money dries up Banks in Europe will suffer from the over extending in Greece, Italy , Spain  and France to name just a few etc .
It seems that every Government in Europe and North and South America have severe political issues. Do you remember when Belgium went without a elected Government  for 589 days, did anybody even notice??
On a more local front we had stir fried chicken with noodles for dinner and then finished off the remaining strawberries.

A bit windy and cooler today

Worth listening to about getting old

Not much sun this morning and the temperature has dropped a bit as there is a cold front coming through but gone by Thursday according the weather information provided by Yahoo weather app.
In the morning Noel caught up with some more blogging and photos and then started work again on his medical history which eventually he may publish so that anybody else with same issues may have an understanding and be ready for what will possibly happen to them. In the afternoon we watched the Borussia Dortmund Game against the Spurs and the Germans gave them a tough time but the Spurs defence was  up to it and just to rub salt in to the wound after only having perhaps 30% of the possession Spurs scored again.
At half time I decided to check on another app on the Amazon TV fire stick to see when and at what time the Australian F1 will start and as I switched back the program froze and eventually dies, damn it and its half time. So I read the instruction what to do which did not work and then contacted Amazon on-line support and they advised me what to do but it became suddenly obvious that it was the TV at fault as for some unexplained reason it had changed from HDMI 2 input to Reg input 1 hence the’ no signal’. So I missed about 25 minutes of the game. It could have been quicker but Amazon are good and if you put in your home telephone number they will call you back, so I tried and then discovered the number provided by the house agents was incorrect and although Amazon said they were calling, nothing happened. Just what I needed.
Anyway got it sorted in the end.
Jennifer cooked up a chicken stir fry with rice and then we watched the film about Ted Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick bridge disaster. Nice chap, gets drunk and drives of a bridge and makes no attempt to save the girl with him and fails to report for 8 hours. But most Americans forgave him due perhaps to his surname amazing really.
Oh well Man U play tomorrow…

A slow day in the Groves household

Well rain was promised for today and when it arrived it came in an absolute torrent and at one time I thought the swimming pool might overflow. I should have taken a photo although all you could see was very little as it was so heavy and reminded us of the rain in typhoons in Asia.
We had planned a day in as Noel had developed a tummy problem possible form the mushroom from Saturday evening and/or something else, the problem is I cannot always tell what has caused the usual issues with the result that some considerable time was spent in the smallest room in the house. I am thinking of moving the TV in there to help the time pass by. Oh well it could always be worse and usually clears up after a couple of days so Tuesday will also be a quiet day.

Jennifer did some more of her embroidery and Noel continued reading his book which will be finished within the next two days at the current rate of reading. In the meantime one is watching with considerable amusement the fun and games of American Politics. The Anti Trump party ( previously known as the Democratic Party) have now decided that they will not get the result they want from the Muller report which will no doubt, after two plus years of investigation, will prove absolutely nothing except how you can waste taxpayers money and so they have given that up and starting a new approach by looking for abuse of power, perhaps they should be looking at the Clintons?
I remember reading a story prior to the US elections that the Democrats felt in order to win they should help promote the candidate less likely to succeed who’s ,name by the way, was Trump as all they did by name calling etc was to promote Mr Trump and of course he got elected. They still cant believe they lost after two and half  years and so have now started a new approach. However to me they seem to be making the same mistake again by trying to get Trump and so all they do is ensure his name is in the papers every day and over time the Democratic voters will reason that they will lose and vote again for Mr Trump.
After many years in business which we wanted to grow we did not go out in to the wider world and slag off our competitors as means to grow as it does not work as you need to have services, and policies for politicians, to help improve your business growth. They also have a new female member of the house which they seem to have marked as a future President by the name of Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez and my god if you think Trump is bad look at this lady. She is promoting the Green Deal which enforces NO cars, aeroplanes in America and free schooling and healthcare and an increase in family support, there is one small problem she has not explained how it will be funded. Also all and I mean ALL houses and building in the USA must be retrofitted with better insulation and more eco friendly, and all of this to take place within ten years or the pollution will take over the world, didn't they say that in the 1990’s???. I think they people with white coats should pay her a visit.
Mind you the UK politicians are continuing to not only screw each other but the country as well over Brexit and now there is a planned march from Sunderland to the Houses of Parliament to protest at the Government failing to honour the people verdict. In the meant Mr Macron the French Idiot has lost the plot entirely, his country is in disarray and he is blaming the Brits, perhaps we should invade again.  Oh well let the fun and games continue whilst we enjoy the sun.

Its Sunday and time for shopping but first the football

Noel watched the Fulham vs Chelsea game before breakfast ( score Fulham 1 Chelsea 2)

and then following breakfast we headed of to the Publix Supermarket about ten minutes away to do a bulk shopping to cover us for the next few days. The interesting thing about the Supermarkets here is that they all  have enormous car parks and so people arrive with a large , they call them truck, and towing a thirty foot boat on a trailer and park up and go and get some ice and beers and then off they go. You often see these very large RV’s the size of a house also parked up, you could not so this at Waitrose or Morrisons in Weybridge, however they do have lots of space in this country.
Noel watched some more football in the afternoon which he had recorded earlier in the days with Everton playing Liverpool which ended in a draw.
After nearly a month here we have settled in to the life style but we don't seem to have any neighbours although there are houses which seemed to be occupied and then you realise its the gardeners or cleaners or pool people. So the nearest occupied house is about 100 yards away where I di see this guy doing some skinny sun bathing, not a pleasant sight, and then across the river where there appears to be a couple with two kids and three dogs. The son has a car which he seems to spend hours either cleaning or last week adding some blue neon lights to the front of the car, no doubt this makes it go faster.
The rest of the day comprised of a late lunchtime BBQ of lamb chops and salad and finishing with strawberries which are very large over hear.
By the end of the day we were both a little tired and after watching a documentary about the owners of Club 54 in New York which opened in the mid 70’s and closed a few years later due to tax evasion. The guests to this place included just about every famous name at the time complete with a mixture of gays and transvestites. Eventually the place was closed down and they owner went to jail but got off early by shopping some other people who played the same tax avoidance trick as them  One of the owners subsequently dies of AIDS related illness and the other now runs a worldwide chain of very fashionable boutique Hotels.
A quick shower then bed.

Just photo's of historic cars at Engelwood

For a lot more photos go to the smug mug website.....
link below .....
https://noelgroves.smugmug.com/Travel-with-us/2019-27-Jan-9-April-Florida-visit/Englewood-Car-Show-and-Restaurant/
Requires password

Swimming, sunbathing, shopping, historic cars and dinner-Phew what a day!!

It was a nice bright and warm day and so we spent the morning swimming and sunbathing and a light sandwich for lunch before leaving home.
Jennifer is looking to buy a new swimming costume and after we had failed in Sarasota she had located this shop which is stuffed full of swimwear and as it was on the way to Englewood it seemed sensible to go en-route to the car show. Yes, the place was full of swimsuits and perhaps due to the age of the local population the costumes almost arched back to the Victorian times with little skirts and double skinned together with lots of stuffing up top and tightening stuff down below and at over $ 100 per item she very quickly decided it was not for her. From there we headed of to Englewood.
Every first Saturday of the month there is the Englewood drive when you take you old historic car along and allow other people to look over your pride and joy and then every hour drive it up and down the road to show that is goes. There were a number of cars also for sale and at eye watering prices but when you look at the work that has gone in to restoring them you can understand why.  It was quite warm and so we stopped in a roadside bar for a glass of Bud Light beer which went down very well whilst sitting doing people and car watching.
For dinner we had booked the Englewood of Dearborn Restaurant which does not look much from the outside but when you ghost through in to the back outside garden area complete with pond and bandstand it is a nice place. Noel had the steak and Jennifer a large Greek salad with sautéed prawns followed by a apple strudel which she said was the best she has had for a long time It was about 6 pm we sat down and the place was not that busy as we were a little early but but 7pm it was jam packed.Shortly after 7pm the band started up playing mostly blues numbers with a few couples of a distinct age hanging on to each other to avoid falling whilst hoping the hip or knee does not give in, yes most people were over the 60 mark but obviously have a good time.
We left the restaurant around 8pm and walked back to the car and although it had not rained the car was completely covered in due which surprised us. We do need some shopping and thought about doing it on the way home but then said Nah!! lets doe it tomorrow morning and do a full shop for the next few days.
Back to an early bed.
FOR MORE THAN 100 CAR PHOTOGRAPHS GO TO MY SMUG MUG ONLINE PHOTO ALBUM-PASSWORD PROTECTED

Another day in camp- Its the First of March-where does the time go?

We had a nice day around the house today after the previous days excursions ‘up north’ as they say.  Jennifer is continuing to do the embroidery for one of the grandchildren and hope to have it complete before we leave Florida but it is coming along nicely.

Noel spent time catching up with three days blogging, the trouble is if you leave it for a few days you tend to forget what you did, not sure if this is a sign of getting older or the days are similar and nothing really stand out except in the case of Thursdays Sarasota visit. Time was also spent going through the friends photos which have recently been uploaded as some of them needed turning and so that is now complete. As I have previously mentioned, perhaps more than twice, that I am reading a book about a junior doctors exploits and also about the NHS and in particularly about A & E and the waiting lists. The current ,so called, approved maximum waiting time is four hours and hopefully it is less but what reminded me about this is the following. As you leave Sarasota there are number of hospitals, all private and vying for business and a couple of them have electronic signs up roadside advising the average wait time to see a Doctor and on the day we came back the sign for the Sarasota Main  Hospital was showing just six minutes, blooming Hell and further down the road another one was showing just four minutes.

Returning to politics for the moment I have concluded there are actually two TRUMP parties in the USA , one is the Official Donald Trump Republican Party and the other is ‘I hate Donald Trump Party’ or mostly known as Democrats who by chance have spent all the time since President Trump was elected to try and find out something wrong about him, with no obvious result. Yes he did perhaps pay off a porn star who said she spent the night with him, and so the Democrats are going after him for this forgetting all about  The Kennedy and Clinton affairs. What nobody seems to be doing is taking this lady to cleaners for trying to extort money from Trump. Its all wrong and no wonder nothing ever gets done in this country, perhaps its needs a Dictatorship Ha!!!
We worry about the UK and Brexit but there are serious issues in Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, France, Sweden, Poland etc all of which are largely of EU making. Trump today described the EU as a ‘Museum piece’ and he is not wrong.
In the evening Jennifer made a really delicious cod, salmon and prawn dish with mashed potatoes, absolutely brilliant..
Then to bed after watching ‘The Grand Tour’

Sarasota visit

Jennifer is looking for items for her wardrobe and at the same time a visit to Costco was due to top up the meat and chicken supply and as Costco is in a mall in Sarasota it seemed like a good idea to combine the visit.

Rather than take the direct route which he done a few times we decided to take the route via Grove City on the Placida Road via Venice in to Sarasota. We left the house around 11.00 a headed off and there was not much traffic on the road until we got close to Venice which we passed through and our first stop was Whole Foods for lunch and Jennifer to buy some fruit, they always have good stuff here. From here we went to the Westwood Mall and walked through an almost deserted building but it was good as there are plenty of chairs for bored husbands to sit and wait for their shopping wives, so I joined in. Jennifer checked out H & M and a couple of other shops and then on to J C Penny which either have the wrong size or not quite the correct colour and as for swimming costume it was a disaster as it was mostly Tankini ( as in tank & bikini) and they were horrible to look at and no doubt wear and not cheap either. We also looked for pairs of shorts but nothing was suitable and so after a couple hours we ended up with one long skirt which was nice but the tops that would match were so long they could almost be worn as a dress, so forget that.

Oh well we agreed that if we did not find anything we would go next week to Port Charlotte to another even larger mall which has Macy’s & Dillard's and many others and hopefully find something there. Then in to Costco and quick check of the clothing section two pairs of shorts which were perfect and a nice cotton top  and at really good pricing and a lot less than J C Penny. We then continued with the rest of our food and wine shopping and then bought a nice tray of shrimps foe a starter and then decided to risk the pork ribs and just hoped that there was not to much garlic in there ( unfortunately at 0530 the next morning Noel realised there was). So we had a nice dinner and watched tv for a while but as both of us were quite tired after out long day out so we adjourned to bed.
It was a nice day out and perhaps an easier more relaxing day tomorrow with a swim or two.

Well Chelsea are playing tonight again, the stress is to great to take!

The morning was spent receiving about 500 photos downloaded form a transfer site with all the pictures used at our friend Rogers Funeral wake and I wanted to have them for our smug mug website, This took about two hours or more but still there some more work to be done as some are upside down and need to be turned whilst others could perhaps be digitally improved. What you can do today with digital photography is amazing.
The early afternoon was swimming and then watching Chelsea play Tottenham Hotspurs which Chelsea won easily I would say 2-0 mind you the Spurs gave away a most stupid own goal, its as though the player though he was at the opposite end of the field and deftly aimed the ball past the keeper in to his own net and then immediately realising it was his teams goalkeeper standing there, quite funny really but not for the Spurs.see link ....Spurs own goal
In the evening Noel BBQ's some pork loin chops the size of house brick but they were really excellent again and together with some salad and veggies it was most enjoyable.
In the evening we finished off the last chapter of the Jeremy Thorpe film with obviously a very biased Judge and even today the partner/lover of ex Jeremy Thorpe is still attacking the police for for handling the case badly some 40 years later.
Now the final word about BREXIT see link
BREXIT EXPLAINED

A visit to Engelwood Historic township

This morning we wanted to pay visit to the old town of Englewood which is about fifteen minutes drive from with a view to looking at restaurants for this coming Saturday evening. We don't usually eat out very much as Noel always has to watch the food he carefully and unfortunately even with the best will in the world mistakes are made to his health detriment but as it the car drive through evening we thought we would take a peek at restaurants and see what is available. (we looked at the card last year which is a combination of everything from old to new) but worth a watch. We think we shall go to a Restaurant called Englewood on Dearborn ( The Dearborn is the name of the street)

Anyway we drove through the town and videotaped some of it and whilst in the process of turning around in a quiet backstreet we came across a group of approx. 40 people mostly with guitars singing away to their hearts content. It looks like a a group of local retires got together in the bandstand to enjoy music and other peoples company for a sing as long, really nice. Cant see this in Wey Road though?
After that we drove back to Publix Supermarket to top up on food shopping and then headed home where Noel had his Sushi and Jennifer a chicken salad sandwich.
In the evening we started watching a BBC three part series about Jeremy Thorpe which was extremely good, we have seen it before but it was really worth watching again.
Well that's it for today apart from watching with growing dissatisfaction of the UK Government and all Ministers and for their failure to respect the order of the UK people, its disgraceful.

The most exciting thing about today was the visit by the pool maintenance guys

Well every Monday two guys turn up to check the pool is safe to swim in and their are no alligators or snakes in there. This is a salt water pool and it needed topping up and so they poured enough salt for about hundred packets of fish and chips in to the pool and a quick wipe around and check and clean the filter all carried in less than ten minutes.
The rest of the day we spent resting, reading and Jennifer did some washing and in the evening it was time for a BBQ of the fantastic sirloin steak we got from Costsco.I keep forgetting to take a photo of them but we have one piece which is about three inches thick and amazing.
Noel is reading a book called Trust Me I am (a junior) Doctor, quite fun really …. whilst Jennifer is still doing her embroidery.

After dinner we watched a film we have seen before called 100 feet journey, a film with Helen Mirren as a French Restaurant Owner/Manager based in the French Countryside when a family of immigrant Indians turn up and take them on. A good film with a great outcome and well worth watching again.

Have been reading how good the weather is in Uk at the moment , which is a major surprise . Have also been checking on how we can watch the Formula One racing which starts in Melbourne mid march and discovered that the Fubo App we use for football will also carry the motor racing we understand.
Well its Tuesday morning and the sun is shining and I have been busy catching up with emails and photos and blogs and now its time for a cuppa.

Chelsea goalie scores own goal!!!

What a strange day for football. An early morning, for us anyway, at about 08.30 we gathered around the tv to watch the Manchester United vs Liverpool game which was quite good although I don't think Liverpool were at there best. However the amount of on pitch injuries was amazing and by half way through the first half Manchester United had used up all their subs whilst also losing a couple of good players during the prior game warm up. Anyway after a frantic game the score was a no score draw however with Liverpool getting one point put them on the top of the table again.
We now had about 45 minute break before Chelsea take on Manchester City in the Caribou Cup in Wembley and when we last played Manchester City a couple of weeks ago ‘boy they whipped our arse’ as they say here in America but  Chelsea lost by six goals to none and so today would be rather telling for the players and Manager who is is under considerable pressure. Well the game did not turn out with Chelsea getting thrashed again and it was pretty even in the first half but in the second half and during extra time I think that Chelsea had the better play but not scoring any goals. And so to penalties, and Oh boy was their a fracas as the goalie Kepa who was suffering with cramp, how a a goalie get cramp I cant imagine, but he was to be ordered off by the Manager and he point blank refused. See the video as per link.
Kepa Refuses to leave the pitch

Well after this farce and the wonderful bloody Jorghino missed the first penalty, he should go this boy. But in the end we lost the penalty shoot out even with David Luiz missing and it is strange that it was Luiz who try to comfort Kepa during the fracas and so maybe he intended to miss?? who knows as in the past when you loose the dressing room, then you are in deep trouble. Lets see what happens over the next few days as Chelsea is due to play their nemesis Tottenham Hotspurs on Wednesday this week.
If you are asking how I can watch all this football is because with my Amazon TV Fire stick I downloaded two Apps, one from ESPN which does the European Champion ship and non Premier league football and Fubo ( A Spanish tv supplier) who does the Premier League, I have to pay for both but can stop paying when we leave the house but for Noel its good as he loves his football. Not sure if we will get to see the Formula One will check on that nearer the start date of the season.
In the evening we listed to Pandora a great music streaming station which does not operate in the UK anymore which is such a shame as I used to listen to it for hours. For dinner Jennifer made cod with a prawn sauce and home made fries, really great and then back to watch the last episode of Shetland. 
Its been a little hot today we closed al the doors and windows and kept the aircon on which enable us to sleep better. Forgot to mention we both had a good swim during the day and the exercise help’s you relax and sleep.
Oh well a busy day ahead tomorrow with swimming and BBQ planned for tomorrow night.
One last comment about Brexit…
In the USA they are saying that if the papers keep on saying the same thing that people will begin to believe it like Trump is a Russian Spy, Yep that's what  some of the population think, because the Democratic guided newspapers keep printing it. Its the same in the UK, if you say the same thing about the peoples view that they want to change their vote people begin to believe this is correct irrespective of whether its true or not. Just like the a nod deal Brexit will make the English Channel run dry and the River Thames turn blue and all the space junk will return to earth on Southall, if you say this enough there is a large percentage of people who would believe it. If you said that if we stay in the EU then the Government cannot afford to pay our pensions but if we leave then they can and increase them by 50% then people would vote for Brexit. None of these Facts? are of course correct but that is what the current press is all about today including the BBC. The Press does not report news IT MAKES IT UP

A nice day for reading

Well the sun is shining and its pretty warm today and around 30 C  so have to be careful of sunburn which can easily happen if you spend to long in the sun.
Noel has still been trying to fix the video that for some silly reason would not load and is now waiting for a reply from Smug Mug. The day was mostly spent relaxing, reading and listening to music whilst Jennifer decided to check all the contents of the food cupboard and kick out stuff which is well past its sell by date. When people rent these house they sometime buy stuff they either don't need of just don't use and so we always wait until we have checked in to the house before doing our final shopping.
Noel sat by the pool for a while listening to music whilst Jennifer also did some embroidery of something for our new grandson Ethan and after a while and enough music has been listened to Noel read a book that he had got about the life of a Junior Doctor and the challenges of same profession. Its written in a humorous and light hearted way and interesting to read but could be misconstrued as how bad the NHS is.
You might say it was Scottish night tonight as we watched The Grand Tour which was around Scotland and then continued with another couple of episodes of  ‘Shetland’  where the body count is rising and this time its getting very personal. Prior to our TV evening we enjoyed two rather large by really excellent Port Chops which we did on the BBQ washed down with a glass of Stella.
And so a good evening and as its a little hotter today and these houses which are made of wood will retain the heat we decided to turn on the air con for the evening and night so it was little cooler inside.
Tomorrow morning there will be an early start as there are two football games Noel wants to watch, and so that will be the morning gone by the time the games are over.